Note to Twelfth Night, 1.5.52, "As there is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty's a flower"

Like all of Shakespeare's other fools, the Clown wraps his wisdom in puns and chopped logic. The Clown is giving Olvia some advice. She accused him of being "dry" and "dishonest." He answered that if he had a drink, he wouldn't be dry anymore, which is just a joke, but then he rattles off what he calls a "simple syllogism": Virtuous people make mistakes, but that doesn't make them totally bad ("virtue that transgresses is but patched with sin"), and vice-versa; in other words, nobody's perfect and everyone makes mistakes, but no mistake has to be forever. The mistake that the Clown has in mind is Olivia's vow to mourn seven years for her dead brother, staying veiled and weeping all the while. If what he has already said isn't enough of a hint to Olivia, the Clown adds, "As there is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty's a flower." Calamity is a cuckold because no one can stay married to it forever; no matter what terrible thing has happened to you, eventually you will fall out of love with your grief and get on with life. Also, the time for Olivia to get on with her life is now, because "beauty's a flower," which buds, blooms, fades, and dies. Oliva is beautiful, and it will be a shame if she doesn't enjoy life while she is in bloom. Olivia Unveiling To Viola, photo by Sir Thomas Francis Dicksee, 1879